IRVING – The Cowboys threw out their concerns about Brooking’s 34-year-old knees and played him on every defensive snap in the opener.

Wade Phillips rested Brooking a lot during training camp and the preseason, hoping to keep his knees fresh.

“I felt good at the end of the game,” said Brooking, who finished with seven tackles and one pass broken up. “My legs were fresh. So we’ll see how it goes for the rest of the year, but I felt really good at the end of the game.”

His iron man performance underscores the lack of confidence Wade Phillips has in the younger linebackers. Phillips had planned on rookie Sean Lee playing in obvious passing situations, but the Penn State alum isn’t ready yet for the chore.

Although Brooking felt fine after the game, he was hurting Monday afternoon when he met with reporters.

“I don’t feel very good at all,” he said with a laugh. “But who does in this room who played 60 snaps and had I don’t know how many head-on collisions? That’s part of Monday morning being an NFL player?”